Locomotive



March 8, 1932. J. H. Hm'v'E-Y' 1,343,831

LOCQMOTIVE CONTROL SYSTEM Fild March *7, 1951 Air Reservoir WITNESSES 'INVENTOR ffdwwl James HJ/arvey ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 8, 1932 v JAMES H. HARVEY, or witxr'ivsnungrnuitsvnvamn Assxeivoa To w asmmeHoUsE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING oorzranvya ooaroan rrorror PENNSYLVANIA I nocoivrorivn' ooivrnonisvsfa nir i Application filed March t.

7 My invention relates generally to control systems, and more particularly, to "control systems for Diesel electric locomotives;

An object of my inventiomgen'erally stated, is'to provide a control system which shall be a simple and efficient in operation and which may be economically i manufactured and, installed. N l

' A more specific object of my invention is to 10 provide for automatically stopping a Diesel electric locomotive in case' ,the;operator be comes disabled; i I

Another object of -m'y "inve'ntion is to pros vide for controlling aDiesel-electric locomo- 1 tive from aplurality of stations.

' Other objects of my invention willbe' described fullyhereinafter or will be apparent to those skilled in the'art.

n H For a fullerunderstanding'fot the nature and scope of my invention, reference may be had to the following detailed. description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying .drawingiin which i h Thesingle figure is a diagrammatic view of a control system constructed in accordance with myinvention. V I p v r Referring to the drawing, amotor 10; which may be of any suitable type," isfutilized for 7 propelling a vehicle '(not shown) In the. 80 particular embodiment of the invention illus-T trated, a series motor, having an armature, and a series field w1nd ng12,-1s-

winding 11 provided. v 4 i I The power for operating th'ejmotor 10 is supplied by a. generator 13,of the shunt-f wound type,ha"ing an armature'windi'ngl l and a shunt field winding 15. electricallyopera ted switch 16 is provided for connecting the generator 13 to the motor 10. T An internal-combustion engine .117, which may be ofsth'e well knownDiesel type i'spror' vided for driving the generator 13 tosupply. power forioperating' the vehicle. In this manner a self-propelled locomotive is pro vided which does not require electric power from an extcrnalsource' to' operate theve hicle, and, therefore, does not require a trolley conductor for conducting" electric currentto v the propelling motor, as is the case withelec-i trio locomotives of the usual type."

1931; Serial no, 520,993.. l

-A locomotive thew ljiesel-electric type is particularly suitable for use as a switching I locomotive, in that no complicated overhead trolley system is required to supply it with powerf A r i The supply, of fu'elfto the eng-ine lii-is controlled by throttle 18, which. may bev a te dbyeee ettrep me a ism 19.; The throttle 18 is'actuatedbyapiston;-

2i, which is disposed-m n aircylinder 22.

e0 The operation of the piston-21"may ibecon i trolled; by a magnet valve 23;, which is i of fa standard type,'wel1 knownin' 'theart The 1 i magnet valve 23 regulates the, flow of compressed airfrom an ainre'servoir 24 tothe air cylinder 22. The throttle 18 maybe so adjustedfth'at the engine will operate atan;

idling speed when the air is permitted to be exhausted fromthe cylinder 22fthroug h the magnet valve 23, thereby permitting a spring: 25 to actuatethefpiston 21 to the'closed or lower position, as viewed in rthe drawing. -When the actuating coil of the magnet valve '23 is energized, air is admitted tolth'e' cylinder 22 through the magnetvalve23' from the air reservoir 2%, thereby compressing' the spring 25t6 Open thethiottle i As is the usual pr a'ctlce, an air-brake sys-a is provided on the locomotive for co tr l n s Speed n f r stepp it he necessary, Since the brake 'system j'may be of any standard type, w'ell' known in the art, it has been deemed unnecessarytogive a detailed description of its s tructuraland' operating featuresin'this specification. The operation of. the air brakes. may be controlled by abrake applicatorvalve 26 which is of a standard type The val ve 26 controls the admission of 'air' to the conductor 27, which leads to the brake-operating mechanism (not shown). The operation of'the valve 26 is similar to the magnet valve 23.

As is well known in .the art, the

the brakes will bereleasedfrom the wheels'of th'ejlocomative when the air pressure is balbrake ape: p plicator valve 26 "may be so'constructedth'at. "5

controlled by a magnet valve 28 which'is ion through a conductor 29, to balance the air pressure applied to the other side of the valve 26 through a conductor 31, thereby releasing the air brakes. When the magnet valve 28 1 is deenergized, the air is permitted to be extrated, the drum of the controller. 32 is disposed tobe actuated. by a pulley 34. In order'that the operation of the locomotive may be controlled from either side ofthe locomotive cab, or from a plurality of stations within the cab auxiliary controllers 3 n 3 a .1 i d d-. The auxiliary co troller may belocated' on one side of the locomotive ca hil th auxil ary controller 36'n ay be on the-other side. Asshown, the master controller 32 be actuated, through eitherofthe auxiliary controllers, by mans Q 'es' 7 and 38 whi h, con: nect the pulleys, provided on the auxiliary controllers 35 and36', to thepulley 34 on the master controller 32. v In order that the locomotive shall be autoic y opped. in. case the op ator becomes disabled, the auxiliary COI1llrollers35 M16135 e pro d d li contact se ents 41" and'42, respectively, which are disposed to be actuated by handles 43 andj44.,,common y known as dead mans ha dlies7'. The contact segments .1 and 420i" the auxiliary contro lers disposed to. be. engaged by a' plurality t't nta t' fihg rsandiare actuatedto the out?"positi on by springs 45.,and 46, when the handles4iz and 4 are released. The auxiliary controllfirs. 35 and, 36 are so interconnected that theoperationof the loco-. motive may be controlled by either of the controller-s. They are also connectedinsuch m n r hat he. locomo ive. w ll be automa ir cally stopped when both; Ofv the handles 4.3. and 441 ar p rmit ed by the. operator to remain i j r leased positionass wn n the a ng, o predeterm ned time inte val.

I de hat he stoppingof? the. vehi shall be de ay d fo a. Sho t ime... ter. the.

. o o er andle is releas d; y; the oper- M 3 n. a e he. operator. has-not. be omedisab dfb ismer y passing fnom one side of the locomotive to the other, a time-delay relay4? is provided which functions todelay the stopp gy f he. ocomotive f r pr termined time interval. Thisi's of the: same generalconstruction-andoperates inthe sa tro-magnetic type, having an armature 48 pivotally mounted upon a core 49. The relay is provided with two coils 51 and 52, which are so wound as to oppose each other magnetically. When the coil 51 is energized, a magnetic flux is established in the core 49 which actuates the armature 48 to the closed position. The flux established by the coil 51 is opposed by the coil 52 which is constantly energized. lVhenthe armature 48 is closed, a closed magnetic circuit is established through the armature 48. and the core 49. Therefore, when the coil 51 is deenergized, the time rate of decay of flux in the magnetic circuit may be controlled by varying the current in the deenergizing coil 52. In this manner, the time at which the spring 53 will cause thearrnature 48 to open, afterthe coil 51 is deenergized', may be varied within predetermined limits. Thetimle setting of the relay 47 may also be varied by adjusting the tension of the spring 53; The amount of current in the coils 51 and 52 may be controlled by resistors 54 and 55. I.

A control battery 56jofthe usual type is provided for supplying energy to operate the control equipment of the locomotive.

Assumingthat the apparatus is in the relativeposition shown, in the drawing, also that the engine 171 is operating at the idling. speed, the locomotive may be controlled from either side of the cab byineansiof the auX- il'iary controllers v and 36. It will be assumed that the. Operator is at the controller 35. By compressing-the handle-43', the con,-

tact segment 41 is actuated to the in posi- 51 may be traced from the positive side of i the battery 56, through. conductors 57 and 58, contactfingers 59 and. 61 bridgedby the contact segment. 41 conductor 62,.operating coil 51 of the relay 47 ,conductor. 63, the resistor 55 and. conductor 64, to the negative side of the battery 56.

When the armature 48 of the relay 47, is closed, the magnet valve 28 is energized to causethe brakes to. be released. from the locomotive wheels by means of the brake applicator valve 26,. asdescribed hereinbefore. The energizing circuit for the actuating co l of themagnet. valve 28 extends from the positi-ve side of, thebattery 5.6, throughconductors 57 and 65, contact'members 66and 67.05 the relay 47,.conductors 68- and 69, the, actuat ing coil of the magnet valve 28 and. conductors 71. and 72, tothe negative side of the battery 56.

The master controller 32- may be actuated toposition 1 by rotating the auxiliary controller 35 in the proper direction by means of the handle 43. When the master controller 32 is in position 1.,the magnet: valve 23, is

As previously explained, when the coil of the y I magnet valve 23 is energized, air is admitted to the cylinder 22 to cause the pistonj2l to actuate the throttle -18 toithe open position, thereby accelerating theengine 17.x w mThe motor 10 may be connected to the generator 13 to propel the locomotivebyfactuat-f ing the master controller 32-to position-;.2, to close the switch 16. The circuit for energizing the actuating coil of the switch 16 e2:- tends from 'th'econtact finger 78, which engages the previously'energi'zed contact segment 33 of the controller 32, through conductor 7 9, the actuating coil of the switch 16, and conductors 76, Wand 72, to the negativeiside' of the battery 56'. The motor 10 is connected V to the generator 15, Which is drivenf'bythe engine 17, thereby supplying power to'operate the motor 10'. I

- A signal lamp 81 is providedlto indicate the side from which'the locomotive is being controlled and also to warn theoperator of a failure of the control voltage. hen the contact segment 41 1s actuated to the n p'ositlon, a c1rcu1t is established for energizing the lamp 81 which extends from the' positive side of the battery 56, through the conductors 57 and 58, contact fingers59 and 82bridged by the contact segment 41,Qconductor83,:the lamp 81 and conductors 84 and 64, to the negative side of the battery 56.

In case the handle 43 of the controller- 35 is released by the operator, the biasing spring 45 will actuate the contactsegment 41 to the out position, thereby interrupting the cir-' cuit through thejconta'ct fingers 59 and 61 to disconnect the coil 51 of 'therelay 47 from" the battery 56. v

7 As previously explaine'd,the armature 48 of the relay 47 will be opened ata predeter mined time interval after the coil 51 is de-' energized. When the armature 48'is opened, the contact members '66 and 67 are separated, thereby removing control energy'fromthe control apparatus and automatically stop" ping the locomotive a predetermined time inis: released.

to beclosed. to reduce the speed of the engine 17=toanidling speed. At the same time, the actuating coil of. the magnet valve 28 is de energized, which causes the air brakes to be applied to the wheels of the locomotive,i'as previouslyexplained, In this; manner, the locomotive is automatically: stopped in case the operator becomes disabled or leaves the control station for a predetermined time If it is desired, the locomotive may be controlledfroma' difierent position in the cabby means of vt-hefa'uxiliary contro1ler'36, in the].

sameimanner as by the controller 35. The

controller 36iis provided with thehandle 44' which Tactluate's .the contact 1 segment I 42.

When jtlieyhandlek44 is depressed, the actuating coil 51" of the relay *4? is energized to closet-he armature of therelay 47 thereby" energizing the control apparatus, as pre? viously explained. The energizing circuit forthe'coil 51 maybe traced from the positive side of the ,battery-'56, through conduc-l torsi 57. and '85,.contact fingers 86 and... 87,

bridge dbyithe'contact segment 42, conductor '88, contactfingers 89'and-61 bridged bfy the.

contact segment '41 conductor 62, the actu:-

'ating. coil 51,' conductor 63, the resistor 551 and conductor64,to the negativeside otjthe battery. 56." V i It will be readily'understood that the locomotive will be automatically stopped a p'redetermined time-interval after the handlef44 is released; by-the' operator, in the manner previously described, sincethe coil 51.0f the relay 47' is deenergized when thehandle'4'4 ;A lamp' 91, similar to the locomotive is being con the lamp 81-, is pro- .vided to warn theopera'tor of afailure of" in the art, such as reversing switches for re versing the motor 10 andalso accelerating resistors and switches for controlling the ac celeration-ot' themlocomotive may be provided.

. From the fore going description it willbe evident that I have provided for controlling the operation of a Diesel-electric locomo tive from a: plurality of control stationsp l f have also provided for automatically?instituting a braking operation to effect the stop ping of the locomotive in the event that the 1 operating handle of a controller is released and permitted to remain in such'position for a predetermined interval of time, such as would result were. the operator to become disabled or absent himself from his position in the cab for an unpermitted interval of time. The'. time interval, however, permits the operator to move from one controlstation to another without causing the locomotive to be stopped.

I 0 not desire to berestrictedto the specific embodiment of my invention. herein shown and described, since it is evident that it may be changed andmodified Without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as definedin the appended-claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In acontrol, system for. motor vehicles, in combination, a motor for propelling a vehicle, a. generator. for supplying power tolthe motor, an engine for driving the generator, a: controller, disposed to be actuated by. an operator, for starting and accelerating the vehicle, andmeans cooperative with the, con troller for automatically stopping the vehicle when -reieasediby. the operator.

2. In a control system for motor-vehicles, in combination, a motor for propelling :1 vehicle, a generator for supplying power: to the motor, an engine for driving the generator, electro-pneumatic means for applying brakes to the vehicle, a. controller, disposed to be actuated by a-nroperator', for starting and accelerating the vehicle, and means cooperative with the controller for, disconnecting the motor and for actuating the brake-applying meansto stop thevehicle when the operator becomes disabled.

3.. In a control system for'motor vehicles, in combination, a motor for propelling a vehicle, a generator for supplying power to the motor an engine for driving the generator, and means, disposed to be controlled: by-an operator, for disconnecting the motor from the generator and for reducingthe speedot' the engine to a predetermined value when releasedby the operator.

4. In a control system for motor vehiclesin combination, a motor for propellinga vehicle, a generator for supplying power.- to the motor,.an engine for driving the generator, electro-pneumatic means for applying brakes to the vehicle, and means, disposed to be controllediby an operator, for disconnecting the motor from the generator, reducmg the speed of the engine to apredetermmedvalue and.

for. actuating the brake-applyingmeans when released by the operator. 1

5. In a control system for motor. vehicles, in combination, a motor for propellinga vehicle, a. generator for supplyinpower to the motor, an engine for. driving the generator, a master controller, disposed to be actuated by an operator, for starting and accelerating the operator, and means for preventing the stopping of the vehicle for a. predetermined time interval after release of the auxihary controller.

6. In a. control system for motor: vehicles,

in combination, amotor for propellinga vehicle, agenerator for supplying power to the motor, an engine for driving the generator, a master controller, disposed to be actuated by an operator, for starting andaccelerating the vehicle, an auxiliary controller cooperative with the master controller for automatically stopping the vehicle when released by the operator, and arelay disposed to delay the stopping of the vehicle fora predetermined time interval after release of the auxiliary controller.

7. In a control'sy-stemior motor vehicles, in combination, a motor for propelling a vehicle, a generator for supplying power to the motor, an engine for driving the generator, a master controller for starting and accelerating the vehicle, an auxiliary controller adapted. to be actuated by an operator and disposed. to operate the master controller, means cooperative with the controllers to, stop the vehicle when the auxiliary controllerv is released by the operator, anda relay disposed to delay the stopping of the vehicle for a predetermined time interval after the auxiliary controller is released by' the operator,

r 8. In a control system for motor vehicles, in combinatioma motor for propelling a vehicle, agenera'tor for supplying power to the motor, anengine for driving the generator, a master, controller for starting and accelerating the vehicle, a plurality of auxiliary controllers adaptecbto be actuated by an operatorand disposed to operate the master'controller, means cooperative with the controllers, tostop the vehicle when the auxiliary.

controllers are; released by the operator and a relay disposed to delay the stopping of the vehicle for a predetermined time interval after the-auxiliary controllers are released by the operator.

9. In a control'system for motor vehicles,

in combination, a motor for propelling a vehicle, a generator for supplying power to the motor, an engine for driving the generator, a master controller for starting andaccelerati'ng the vehicle, aplurality of' auxiliary controllers disposed to actuate the mastercontroller and. adapted: for 4 manual operation, means cooperative with the controlers to stop.-

the vehicle when the auxiliary controllers are released, a relay; disposed to delay the stopping of'thevehicle for a predetermined time intervalafter the auxiliary controllers are released,.and signal means for indicating when anauxiliary controller is-released;

10. In a' control system for motor vehicles,

in combination, a motor for propelling a vehicle, a generator for supplying povverto the motor, an engine fo-r-drrvmg the generator,

a switch for-connecting the generator to the motor, amaster controller for controlling the operationof the switch, an auxiliary controll'er disposed to actuate: the master controller and adapted for manual operation, means associated with the auxiliary controller for automatically opening said switch to disconnect the motor from the generator when the auxiliary controller is released, and a relay disposed to delay the opening of said switch for a predetermined time interval afterthe auxiliary controller is; released.

11. In a control system for motor vehicles, I I

in combination, a motorfor propelling a ve= hicle, a generator for supplying power to the motor, an engine for driving the generator, a throttle for regulating the speed of the engine, an operating mechanism for actuatingthe throttle, a master controller-for controlling the throttle-operating" mechanism, an

auxiliary controller disposed to actuate the master controller and adapted for manual, operation, means associated with the auxiliary controller for automatically actuating the throttle-operating mechanismto reduce the speed of the engine when the auxiliary controller is released, and a relay disposed to delay the actuation of the throttle-operating mechanism for a predetermined time intervalafter the auxiliary controller is released. 12 In a control system for motor vehicles having an air-brake system, in combination,

a motor for propelling a vehicle, a generator for supplylng power to the motor, an engine 7 for driving the generator, a valve for controlling the operation of the air brakes, an eleotro-pneumatic means for controlling said valve, a controller for controlling said electro-pneumatic means, said controller being adapted for manual operation, means associated with the controller for automatically operating the electro-pneumatic means to ac tuate the brake-controlling valve whenqthe controller is released, and a relay disposed to delay the actuation of the brake-controlling valve for a predetermined time interval after the controller is released.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto sub- Q scribed my name this 2nd day of March, 1931. j

- JAMES HARVEY. 

